I haven’t written in a looooong while (February 2023, to be exact). Not sure why; it’s not necessarily burnout, it’s more like my attention has drifted elsewhere and the passion to write hasn’t quite been there. I’ve had some writing ideas pop up but nothing solid where I’ve said “HEY, I GOTTA WRITE ABOUT THAT!” All that said the idea for this post is a bit contrary to my usual writings, which I feel are generally pretty positive as I try to share some bands that I like that may turn someone on to their next earworm or musical fix. Sure, on occasion you’re going to get snark here and there as I poke a bit of fun but generally what I’m sharing/writing about is music that I like or reviews from my own personal iPod. This one, however, is a little different.

Confession… I LOVE Appetite For Destruction– loved it when it came out and it still holds up today, even though I don’t break it out and play it often. Everything about that record was a breath of fresh air at a time when the rock scene was getting a bit too safe and glammy (I swear that 1986 tore a new hole in the ozone layer with the hair height) as MTV ruled with a velvet glove while some of my favorite bands at the time lost their own iron fist (I’m looking at you Judas Priest with Turbo, Dokken with Under Lock And Key, Motley Crue with Theater of Pain, and even southern rock stalwarts .38 Special softening up with Strength In Numbers). When “Welcome To The Jungle” hit the airwaves and MTV it was like the dirt, the grime, and the sleaze had started to ooze out of the gutters and slowly penetrated and infested the minds of your Poison and Warrant fans who suddenly broke out (or purchased) their denim and leather, greased their hair back, and shook their fists in the air to Gunner anthems like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City”. Those cuts are fine radio rock anthems and I like them, but my ears were more attuned to the punky stylings of “It’s So Easy”, the Aero-funk of “Mr. Brownstone”, the hard charging “Nightrain”, and the aforementioned “Jungle”. Finally I had a new fave band that looked and sounded NOTHING like what was popular at the time; they were more in line with the classic bands that I loved but added some new flavor to the juice that had gotten a bit flat over the past few years.

Flash forward a few years to bring me to my second confession… I don’t love either Use Your Illusion I & II. I don’t hate either of them but at the time I was left highly disappointed. First song that I can recall was “You Could Be Mine” and its tie in to the Terminator II movie and video. I liked the song (and still do) but it didn’t quite hold a candle to my favorites from Appetite, which was a bit of a concern because while it certainly rocked I was expecting more. Then single number two hit and pssssshhhhh (the air slowly going out of my album expectations)… “Don’t Cry” was not the GnR I wanted to hear- it leaned more to the “Patience” crowd, that cutesy little campfire singalong with its non-threatening vibe that appealed less to me and more to the soccer mom crowd. Which unfortunately meant single number two was strike two and my interest in the Illusion platters was starting to wane. By the time the albums came out and I eventually heard them I was… well… like I said at the start of this paragraph “highly disappointed”. I listened… then listened again… then again, and finally just gave up. But was it too early? Were my initial expectations for the discs and my love for Appetite actually getting in the way of a band that was looking to expand their sound that I just wasn’t ready for? And could years away from these discs (short of the “hits” that occasionally get played on the radio) actually be a little more kind to my ears if I actively revisit both I & II?

So after a year of not writing I had a topic idea and set about listening to both Illusions over the past few days. I figured days instead of weeks would be OK and no more than three passes at each song to get a fairly fresh opinion and not overthinking my review too much. Sometimes songs reveal themselves even more after a couple of passes- generally for me I may hear a song on first run through yet it may not immediately register but because I’m feeling “something” I’ll listen to it a couple more times and it really connects. A lot of these types of songs are due to fresh elements or sounds that I’m not expecting or may not be used to, yet on additional plays these elements seemingly add to the listening experience and in turn often end up as favorite songs from that particular band or possibly even favorite songs in general. So, given many years, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to retry that approach again.

Bottom line: unfortunately, I’m still disappointed. However, many years away from this album has given me a new perspective that I’m going to focus on:

Use Your Illusion should have been one album instead of two

So I look at this in a couple of ways… this obviously goes against the intention of the artist. Listening to this album many years down the road reveals a band heading in multiple directions: Slash obviously still writing riff rock, taking advantage of his “guitar hero” status and wanting to write the next Gunners anthem that we’d all be banging our heads to and shaking our fists with glee. Izzy Stradlin and his occasional Stones homages, breaking out the acoustics for the bluesy singalongs straddled with his more rhythmic sensibilities. Duff McKagan, always the good soldier, content to add his solid basswork to each song but occasionally contributing to the songwriting here and there. And then Axl Rose, who seems committed to moving the band in an entirely different direction while still retaining some of that bad boy image yet adopting an even more sensitive side. Containing this to one album just seems impossible in hindsight, but… could I actually cut it to one 80 minute platter that appealed to my tastes? Yeeeaaaaahhhhhh…. kinda…. sorta…. we’ll stick to Gunners material and throw out the covers (although I actually dig “Live And Let Die”), so here you go:

Use Your Illusion, Revisited

You Could Be Mine

Starting off with a banger that takes some dramatic moments to build into a decent chunky riffster but it’s the chorus that sells this one. Not quite “Jungle” in effectiveness but it serves its purpose as the intro to this disc.

Back Off Bitch

Yeah! Keeping up the riffy rock with song number two, this one cuts straight through the heart with some smokin’ guitar from Slash and a relatively understated vocal from Axl that cuts to the core. One of my actual faves here.

Pretty Tied Up

This one always felt like single material to me for some reason. Not too dissimilar from “You Could Be Mine” in the rolling riff and build to the chorus, although a bit more melodic and less sinister. Axl sounds really good here with lots of range.

Dust N Bones

Another favorite plus I’m a sucker for Izzy tunes, who was always an underrated part of the band and a great counterpart to Slash. Just rocks and rolls with a sweet laid back groove and cool Izzy vocal.

Right Next Door To Hell

Did you notice that I dig the more riffy material? Yeah… this one is a bit more punky and there are days where I could live without it but hey I need to fill out this single album. A nice kick in the pants after the prior tune.

Double Talkin’ Jive

Riffy funk, funky riff… another chance for Slash to shine and he does very well, with more melodic runs in spots and leaving us in the end with some sweet acoustic playing. Axl adds a little bit of flavor vocally, playing things relatively straight and slightly punky

Civil War

Arguably the best song on here and certainly a Gunner anthem if there was one, “Civil War” is a great fit for Illusion but probably would have been an odd bird on Appetite. Great buildup, flow, and Axl sounds great. To me, a much better tune than “November Rain”, a song which has good parts but the bombast overshines what I feel is an unfinished song.

Perfect Crime

Ahhh, maybe I’m pushing these punky songs too hard. Kind of a sister tune in speed with “Right Next Door To Hell” but more cursing (ha ha ha). Gets a little funky midway through and Slash gets a few secs before Axl spits more venom to close out the proceedings.

Bad Obsession

More cowbell you say? Had to balance out some of the rock above with a bit of roll; maybe a bit Aerosmithy with less funk or the Stones with chunkier riffs. Some sweet slide playing on this one (is that Slash or Izzy?). Axl in the pocket vocally, singing more lower range and quite well I might add.

You Ain’t The First

Did I say I liked Izzy? Another campfire tune, less pretty than say “Patience” and probably pulled together after a few cocktails. Fun to sing along to with your drunken buddies as well (“to the bar!”). Maybe a bit of a throwaway but hey, I like it.

Don’t Damn Me

Yeah, I have a lot of Slash moments on this Revisited disc. As much as I dig Izzy, Slash is the man and is a damn good guitarist. Axl shows off a couple more thespian vocals and even shows off a slightly psychedelicized one midway through, which is quite the contrast to the rest of the song.

Bad Apples

Maybe (maybe?) one of the only songs that I’ve picked that could fit on Appetite as it’s more in the pocket and rolls a bit more along with the rocking riff. Matt Sorum probably getting as close as ever to the Steven Adler swing on this one compared to the rest of my selections.

14 Years

More rollicking Izzy with some nice tuneful piano from (I assume) Axl. While not the greatest of vocalists, Izzy is a little world weary in the verses but sells it hard in the pre-chrous and Axl adds his two cents here and there, adding a nice contrast between the two

Estranged

Wasn’t sure if I was going to add this or not but seemed like a fitting end to my album. Actually, it gets a bit bloated at the end but overall I prefer the cinematic elements here more than I do “November Rain”, plus I prefer Axl’s more naked vocal contrasted against Slash’s melodic guitar runs.

So there you go, the Ironriot rethink of a single disc Use Your Illusion. Not exactly 80 minutes but plenty of goodness to satisfy my “appetite” (no pun intended). Let me know what you think!